He was an elf, but that's not common knowledge.
So far as most people are aware, the Nine were all human. (Some of the others had some quirks, too, that made them not quite human.)

"Andrinor grant me the patience not to kill those who screw things up through stupidity, the power to incinerate those who screw things up on purpose, and the wisdom to distinguish between one and the other." -The War Mage's Serenity Prayer